JAY-Z Called Up Stephen A. Smith Over His Viral Rihanna & Beyonce Comparison

JAY-Z called up Stephen A. Smith to reprimand him for pitting Rihanna against Beyonce in a viral debate, last year. Ahead of Rihanna’s appearance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, he argued that she’s not as good of an artist as Beyonce. Reflecting on the drama during an appearance on the Connect the Dots podcast, the ESPN host revealed that he spoke with JAY-Z afterward.

“I love Rihanna. I bought her album, she gets my money. Mad love for her, wish her nothing but the best … But you do know there’s only one Beyonce,” Smith began, reiterating his comments. “A month later, Hov and I were on the phone. Hov was like, ‘My dawg, you family, that’s family. That’s too close to say that.’ I said, ‘I didn’t know.’ He said, ‘I know.’ Done! In other words, it’s a business, it’s a part of it, you don’t know how she’ll receive it, etc. etc. etc. That’s all he had to say. I appreciated that.”

JAY-Z & Rihanna Attend Roc Nation Brunch

LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 11: Rihanna and Jay Z attend 2017 Roc Nation Pre-GRAMMY brunch at Owlwood Estate on February 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Roc Nation)

As for his original remarks, he argued: “There’s one thing she’s not, she ain’t Beyonce. The only reason I brought up Beyonce is because Beyonce recently performed at the Super Bowl.” After facing backlash, he eventually apologized on social media. “I just got out of First Take and I saw some headline that’s circulating all over the place about my quote that Rihanna ain’t Beyonce. See, I’m gonna own it. I know what y’all tryna do but I’m gon’ own it because I get paid to speak for a living so I need to be more careful.”